Srinagar: The National Conference (NC) Friday said the party is hopeful the Supreme Court will “invalidate” the Centre’s August 5, 2019 decisions and restore the constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir that have been “decimated and abrogated”.
In a statement on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A, NC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said the political vacuum caused by the Centre’s “unilateral and undemocratic action” on August 5, 2019 continues to “torment” J-K.
Sadiq, however, expressed hope on the objectivity, impartiality and sense of justice and fair play of the Supreme Court that has begun hearing a batch of petitions against the Centre’s move.
“I am hopeful that the honourable SC will invalidate the Centre’s actions of August 5, 2019 and restore the constitutional rights of our people that have been decimated, and abrogated,” the NC chief spokesperson said.
Expressing concern over the five-year-long central rule in J-K, he said far from bringing the projected development and peace dividends to Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre’s August 5, 2019 actions have “instead disrupted almost every aspect of life across J-K”.
“Employability of youth, development, accountability and democracy have become prime casualties of the unilateral and undemocratic measures. The actions, as already forewarned by us, have begun yielding diminishing returns. Projected as a move that would bring development and peace to Kashmir, the actions have pushed the region into a quagmire of hopelessness,” he alleged.
New media policy, outsourcing of jobs and contracts to locals, soaring inflation, curtailment of ration, drastic hike in the tariff of utility services, and new dismissal rules of employees have resulted in real curbs on the most basic democratic rights such as freedom of expression, Sadiq claimed.
Denial of popular, representative government for too long has its own “inherent negative implications” on every sphere of life across Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
The NC leader added that the administrative setup in place in the Union Territory “lacks legitimate representative character”. “Bureaucratic rule cannot be a substitute to a representative government.”
The situation with regards to democracy in J-K stands “incoherent” with the country’s Constitution and there is “disquieting evidence on the backsliding of democracy everywhere in J-K”, he said.

  Kashmir 370, National Conference

Press Trust of India